United States
Rhonda Glenn (USGA)
Glenn's so-called retirement will include working on her ninth book, an autobiography of LPGA great Nancy Lopez. Lisa Mickey profiled Glenn in "Giving Voice to Women's Game" in the New York Times:
Glenn, 67, retired last week after nearly 50 years as a journalist and an employee of the United States Golf Association. Her desire to document the strokes, triumphs and challenges of players often far from public view shaped her career as a writer-historian.
Glenn literally wrote the book on women's golf, the landmark work "The Illustrated History of Women’s Golf," published in 1991.
" ... I'd see these women chasing their dreams, and there was a certain nobility to that," Glenn told Mickey. "That's when I decided to become a journalist, because I didn't want their stories to be lost."Glenn got started as a teen, working as a radio announcer and sports director. She interviewed Louise Suggs, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, all future Hall of Famers.
"I wasn't afraid," she said. "What was important was the interview."
Glenn moved on to a newspaper in Texas and then into television in Virginia, eventually landing a job as golf commentator for ABC. She became the first female sportscaster for ESPN in 1981.
Glenn's work at the USGA included the establishment of a Mickey Wright Room alongside the Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer rooms at the USGA Museum. Wright is appreciative of Glenn's dedication to the women's game.
"That room in the museum is not just a tribute to me," Wright said in the article. "It's a tribute to all the women before me."
Glenn may have retired from the USGA -- because of the extensive travel, she said -- but she hasn't retired from telling stories.
Source: Rhonda Glenn: 'Giving Voice to Women's Game'
